chard

Chard_STF Website

Chard From Seed to Harvest

SEED

SPROUT

SEEDLING

MATURE

Overview

Chard has tasty and nutritious leaves and stalks that are a good substitute for spinach in most recipes. Chard's colorful stalks make it a beautiful addition to any container or garden.

  • Level of Difficulty: Easy to Grow!

  • Plant Spacing: 8 - 12 inches

  • Days to Harvest: 55 to 60 days from seed, ~20-30 days for seedlings

  • Size at Maturity: 1 - 3 feet height, 0.5 - 2 feet spread

  • Plant Care Basics:

    • Sun - Full sun to partial shade

    • Soil - Requires well-drained soil. Prefers deep, loose, fertile soil, high in organic matter, with pH 6.0 to 7.0.

    • Water - Needs consistent moisture, especially as plants grow large.

Planting + Growing

Growing chard in the garden is easy when planted under the right conditions. Chard likes full sun to partial shade. Your soil should be loose enough to drain well. Chard can grow crowded, but leaves will be smaller and crowded plants may tend to bolt and go to seed more quickly. To optimize growth and a bountiful harvest, follow the spacing guidelines below.

Starting from Seed. If you're starting from seed, plant 1 - 2 seeds about 1/2 an inch down in a cup of soil. Water the soil and place in a sunny area. Check the soil daily to water if necessary. Once your seeds sprout and have true leaves, transplant them outside or into a larger container with at least 8 - 12 inches of space in between each plant.

Starting from Seedling. If you picked up a chard seedling from Sweet Water's seedling pick up, plant the seedlings into soil, allowing 8 to 12 inches of spacing between each plant.

Container growing chard. Chard will grow in an 8-inch pot. In larger containers, like a garden bed, you can plant more than one chard, 8 - 12 inches apart from each other.

Other notes...companion plants. Chicory, garlic, leeks, mustard, onions. Avoid growing chard with legumes, potatoes, or tomatoes.

Harvesting

You can begin to harvest your greens when your chard plants are around 6-8 inches high. If you wait until they’re much taller than 9-12 inches, they will lose some of their flavor. Cut the outer leaves first to allow the tender inner leaves to grow. Be careful to not damage the plant’s center.

Always take the largest, oldest leaves and leave the young ones to continue growing. If you harvest carefully, the new leaves will grow and provide leaves to harvest for many weeks. You can cut the ribs off the chard leaves and cook them. The rest of the leaves are eaten as greens. Rinse off Swiss chard leaves and store them in the refrigerator in ventilated plastic bags.

Cooking

  • More info coming soon....

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